Computacenter sees UK growth despite tough comparison quarter
Reseller ahead of expectations at the start of 2019
Computacenter saw UK revenue growth in Q1 despite a large software deal in the same quarter last year creating a tough comparison.
In an update to the London Stock Exchange the channel giant said that both sales and profitability were ahead of Q1 2018, even before taking the acquisitions of FusionStorm and Misco's Netherlands business into account.
It did not reveal specific figures.
The firm's German business will suffer from one of its largest customers "substantially" reducing its demand for cloud infrastructure, the update said.
However, the UK-based reseller claims that growth among its other German customers "more than compensated" for the expected setback within its German Technology Sourcing business.
Computacenter warned in its full-year 2018 report, released last month, that its German business could be affected by "some uncertainties related to the German economy" as well as declining demand for cloud infrastructure from a major customer.
Germany has been racing ahead of Computacenter's UK business in recent quarters, posting an 8.3 per cent revenue increase in 2018 to €2.12bn, while adjusted operating profit ballooned by 14.5 per cent to €75.6m.
Despite the setback with a major German customer, Computacenter claims that global Q1 revenues and profitability are ahead of expectations and are likely to surpass those posted in the same quarter last year.
Its French business logged one of its best-ever quarters, according to Computacenter, while UK revenues saw growth despite a tough compare due to a large one-off software deal in Q1 2018.
Its US business has grown its revenues year on year, excluding its acquisition of FusionStorm last October, while its smaller European entities saw "positive momentum".
CEO Mike Norris recently opened up on the progress of Computacenter's FusionStorm acquisition, claiming that the US reseller had performed "astonishingly well" in Q4 while claiming he was "satisfied" with its performance in Q1 of 2019.
Computacenter claims that challenging economic conditions in its major markets are not deterring customers from investing in technology.